A family of five discovering the open road

After not enough sleep, Dave made us get up and get on the road. Ugh!!! 9:01 (OK time and 7:01 AZ time) and driving. We had a quick breakfast and began another long day of driving (10 hours).

We drove back through the Coconino National Forest and the Kaibab National Forest. And then, at 11:20am we crossed from AZ back into CA and AWFUL roads!! A lovely 112 degrees and the wide open dry, brown desert surrounding us. At the border we were asked the following questions: “Where are you coming from?” Dave: All over the place? CA: Have a good day!”

Just after 5pm we pulled down our street and parked.

Mackenzie: “There are so many Best Westerns.” “Can we just get to Los Angeles?” “Does it snow here?”

Courtney: “I never want to drive again.” “This couldn’t be uglier.” {drive from border to Fillmore.}

Sadly, our days in Bartlesville have come to an end (at least for this stint). After breakfast at Jude’s, Kourtney and the kids came to the trailer to say good-bye. We got some fun pictures of the group of them and got some good hugs. Ava Kate tried to “keep” Marin and Marin tried to stay. We all had such a great time and were spoiled by our good friends!!

We drove LONG today- 17 hours!! The kids were great; I was a bit nervous after a week of Mason testing our patience. Mason played spaceship with his shoe and binoculars, listened to some CDs, told Dave story after story, read, and colored. Mackenzei read A LOT! It is amazing how much she has grown as a reader on this trip – 10,000 miles to read is a lot of practice. Marin {Rinny as she has been calling herself} took a long nap, colored, read, played tickle monster with Kenz, and chilled.Dave drove. I finished reading Olive Kittridge

Just after noon we got pulled over by a state trooper for Dave not using his turn signal – just a warning, turned out to be a friendly guy. It is funny in OK they have you get out of your car (the driver) and go get in their car.)

At 6:55pm we stopped and had some dinner. Dinner on the road: Veggie sandwiches (bell pepper, tomato, avocado, cheese, lettuce). The kids had Joe’s O’s with raw milk from the OK dairy, bell pepper, banana, and blackberries. Then, back to driving for Dave onward through New Mexico. The kids watched Madagascar and then went to sleep.

We saw a bunch of cool lightening and a beautiful sunset around Tucumcari, NM. Finally, at 3:30 in the morning (OK time- 1:30 AZ time) we stopped in Winslow, AZ. Beat does not describe how tired we were!

Mason: “Look at the…” {He is quite the sight-seer.} “That was a bend-flip lightening. That was the coolest lightening in the world!”

Courtney: “We have seen a lot of dead animals on the side of the road while in OK: armadillo, deer, raccoon, skunk, porcupine.”

Dave: “It is still 95 degrees.” {From OK all the way through TX.} “What’s this? What’s this?” {So weird. We entered pouring rain out of nowhere. And it looked like we hit a wall of smoke.)

Reflections on Bartlesville {interviewing the kids}:

Mason: “Playing with Griffin, the painted buffalo, the Kiddie Park, playing with all of them at the house, the roller coaster at the Kiddie Park- I even hit my back on it.”

Mackenzie: “Playing with Campbell- I love her!, going swimming and jumping off the diving board, going to Jude’s, tennis lessons, the Kiddie Park.”

Marin: “Oklahoma, playing with Ava Cake, swimming with my floaty on, roller coaster- I did Mama!”

Courtney: Bartlesville is beautiful (green everywhere and lots of trees) and cute. Lots of cute and fancy flip flops/sandals, first of all, my brown ones just did not cut it! Second of all, cute downtown, cute/quaint Farmer’s Market… People are very friendly and say hi! The Kiddie Park is a blast- love that the whole town gathers and it is just for fun! Frank & Lola’s is yummy and fun! Love the vibe.

Travels: 131 miles driving around (8030 total miles) Accommodations: Continued at Bartlesville, OK

Pancakes, blueberries, and off to the YMCA. We got in a good workout while the kids played in childcare. Then, Mason had an awful temper tantrum, so he got removed from the next plan of going to the pool. He went back to the trailer where Dave was working and took a much needed nap after a bit of cuddling with Papa. (Note: Mason is done with the trip. This kid thrives on consistency.)

The rest of us headed to the country club pool for a few hours. It was a very warm day today, so sitting in the pool was necessary! We visited with another of Kourtney’s friends which was nice.

After loading up, cleaning up, and little girls down for naps, we got to clean ourselves up. Mason came back over and had a very nice time playing with Griffin.

Dinner (thanks Kourtney!), baths, PJs, bed for some, and babysitter for others, we left to go out to dinner at Frank & Lola’s (Kourtney’s brother-in-law’s restaurant in Bartlesville). It was very cute, lots of young people, and great, creative food. We had a great time!!! (thanks you guys!)

Travels: 16 miles driving around (7899 total miles) Accommodations: Continued at Bartlesville, OK

Another early morning spinning class – boy was one of my quads sore for a few days after that last one. I felt much better at this one, and it is quite a good workout!

After getting the kids ready and everything, we headed over to Kourtney’s and Dave took the boys for a “boys day” and the girls stayed home with a babysitter. Kourtney and I ran a couple errands, went to her OB appointment (I got to sit in a silent waiting room and read for a few minutes), and then went to a lunch for one of her friend’s birthdays. It was a very nice morning and afternoon. It was nice hanging out with some moms, having some away time from kids, and we had yummy food – including an extremely dense brownie with mocha frosting from The Pioneer Woman Cookbook – amazing and rich!

When we got back the little girls were sleeping, and I took Kenz downtown to get a couple little presents. It was nice having a few minutes with her since I really haven’t seen much of her (Campbell and Mackenzie are literally joined at the hip). The boys got back soon after. “Boy day” included flying these great cardboard airplanes, swimming at the pool at the RV park, watching the Muppets Go to Outer Space, and eating lunch. And Dave is pretty sure they both fell asleep while watching the movie at some point. Dave spent the rest of the day working.

Later that evening, Kyle and Dave indulged in Murphy’s (Dave can elaborate) and watching the Hangover (again Dave can elaborate), the kids went to bed, and Kourtney and I went to her book club. It was nice hanging out with girls again, and it sounds like their book was good The Kids are All Right.

We decided to just spend the night. I was beat.

Dave: Murphy’s is so delicious and so dirty. I follow Kyle’s lead: an open face hamburger (on toasted white bread, of course), topped with a pile of fries, and “gravy over all”. I’ve been looking forward to it for weeks.

Travels: 16 miles driving around (7899 total miles) Accommodations: Continued at Bartlesville, OK

After breakfast, Kourtney picked up the younger two kids and me and we headed to the YMCA to work out while the kids went to childcare (the YMCA is very nice here – good equipment, good classes, a pool, an inside track, and $49 a month including childcare). It was nice working out again – I have worked out more in the past two weeks than my entire trip combined.

After, we ran some errands. A deposit at the bank where the teller knows her name (like County Commerce in Ventura), and she saw her Realtor in the drive-through (they see people everywhere they go – small town feel). Then, we went through the covered drive-through cleaners, dropped off a CD at a friend’s house, and picked up some fresh fruit and veggies at a couple roadside stands, then back to the Craig’s house for lunch.

While we were out, Dave was able to observe another of Kyle’s deliveries – a little girl born to a young couple.

After lunch, Mason, Marin, and Ava Kate took naps and the other three did some painting and coloring. After naps, the kids played outside for awhile – on the “quad”, scooters, Red Light Green Light, and such. I got to sneak in painting my nails and reading a chapter in Olive Kitteridge.

For dinner we enjoyed pork chops with BBQ sauce and lemon, baked okra/onion/tomato, whole wheat biscuits, and a glass of red wine.

Just a few minutes before dinner, Dave got a call from Kyle and was able to observe another delivery – this one a C-section. There were a couple minor complications as well, so Dave got to see Kyle deal with those.

Travels: 22 miles driving around (7883 total miles) Accommodations: Continued at Bartlesville, OK

We spent the night at the Craig’s house last night, since the kids were all cozy and asleep. We woke up, got ready, and went to church. Then, the Craigs’ kids came back to the trailer for lunch so Kourtney and Kyle could get ready for their open house solo. After some fruit and PB&J, they cozied up in our bed and watched Bolt.

Later, Kourtney and Kyle came over and the four of us had some lunch, then Kourtney and I went to a friend’s jewelry party for a bit. When we got back we all loaded up – the older girls went to Campbell’s friend’s house for a bit while the rest of us drove around and looked at some houses (the Craigs are in the market) after making an exciting stop for RV toilet paper at Walmart.

We wrapped up the day with a great taco salad Kourtney made and some frozen custard for desert. Kenz spent the night again, and the rest of us headed back to the trailer for bedtime.

Travels: 66 miles driving around (7861 total miles) Accommodations: Continued at Bartlesville, OK

Today is our 11th Anniversary! Crazy how fast time flies – I often don’t feel old enough to be married for 11 years and have 3 kids, including a 6 year old. Anyways, Dave gave me a sweet card and a beautiful bracelet in the morning after a quick breakfast. Then, we went to the Craig’s to pick up Kenz. We were going to do some Bartlesville exploring on our own this morning. We went to the cute, intimate farmer’s market in town – listened to a young girl sing, saw a huge chicken egg, got some blackberries from one family farm and some tomatoes and peppers from another. Then, we went to a feed store which is more of an everything store called Atwoods, and then just drove around a bit before meeting up with the Craigs to spend the afternoon at the pool. It was a warm and sunny day and the pool was great!

Around 3:30, we left to bathe and get the kids ready for a babysitter. And at 5pm, we left 6 bathed and pj’ed kids with a pizza and a babysitter. We went out in Tulsa – just the adults (our second kidless outing on this trip :). We had a great dinner at Stonehorse Cafe. Great ambiance, great friends, great conversation, and some good food. It was nice to go out!

Travels: 27 miles driving around (7795 total miles) Accommodations: Continued at Bartlesville, OK

With a refreshed and rested 4 year old we began our day. We grabbed Starbucks and headed over to the Country Club to meet Kourtney and the kids. We watched the older girls at tennis lessons which was fun (it is in an indoor court). And then Mason got to take a tennis lesson with Griffin which was fun. He had a blast hitting the ball and running around.

After tennis, we headed back to the Craig’s to get ready to go swimming BUT as we started for the car it started raining. We decided to stay in our bathing suits and go have lunch at Jude’s which is a yummy cafe here, while Dave met up with Kyle for Mexican. After lunch the rain had stopped, so we headed over to the pool for a couple hours before naps. The kids had a great time playing in the pool, then off to the Craig’s for naps for Marin, Ava Kate, and Mason.

After naps and some play time, we made a quick spaghetti and cucumber salad (cucs, carrots, feta, avocado and lemon vinaigrette) dinner, cleaned up. Then, headed off to the Kiddie Park at 7pm for a couple hours (a little kids amusement park – rides for little ones, tickets are $0.25 each and most rides are 1 ticket with a few at 2 tickets). The kids had so much fun!!

Mackenzie spent the night with Campbell again – those girls are inseparable. Our kids went to sleep, and Dave and I watched a movie.

Travels: 16 miles driving around (7768 total miles) Accommodations: Continued at Bartlesville, OK

Today I will tell about my day starting with the end. I read a book and ate some ice cream after my kids were tucked into bed. My poor, tired son told me, “I just want to go home right now” as he went to sleep after having the biggest temper tantrum I have ever witnessed from any of my children in my past six years of parenting. We were leaving the Craig’s house and he kept unbuckling himself and opening the car door as he screamed LOUD! Finally, he was buckled, still screaming, we drove away. Half-way to the trailer he unbuckled himself, continuing to scream, and threw himself forward onto the driver’s seat. I decided to pray for safety and finish the last mile or so to the trailer instead of going through the buckle – unbuckle battle again. Back at the trailer, we got him to calm down, PJs on, and he was out in about 2 seconds. He was so tired! Mason does not do well when he is hungry, thirsty, or tired, and he was definitely tired.

Mackenzie decided it would be fun to spend the night with Campbell – so we said good-bye and left her there. We had a yummy lasagna dinner, played outside in the evening, and had a pretty mellow day. The girls went to tennis in the morning and then just played all day.

Another day in Bartlesville. Dave set out with a heavy work agenda, and I headed over to the Craig’s for the day.

Travels: 65 miles driving around (7752 total miles) Accommodations: Continued at Bartlesville, OK

It is crazy how loud the bugs in the trees are here! I’m listening to them in the warm semi humid air of Bartlesville.

Today was a quieter day for us – the kids have been pretty tired, particularly Mason the last day or so. We had a quiet morning in the trailer, eating breakfast, and getting ready. Dave had a meeting at 9:30am, so I took the kids to the YMCA and worked out with Kourtney while they played in childcare. Then, we went to a cute park and let them play for a few before lunch. It got pretty hot, but it was nice to have some outside play time since it rained so much yesterday!

We went back to the trailer and ate lunch and rested a bit. Then, we decided to drive to a farm in Talala which is about 25 minutes away to get some raw milk ($4.50 a gallon). The lady their was very nice – she showed the kids a calf that had just been born today, goats, the cows, and her friendly dogs that keep watch over the animals. It was a pretty drive through trees and green and a fun time at the farm.

Back in town, we ate some dinner and went swimming in the RV park pool, then kids to bed.

Mackenzie:”Watch mom, you won’t even believe this.” {As she completed an underwater maneuver in the pool.}

Mason: “Mom, I’m already in bed.” {The first one, what a good and TIRED boy}